Youth Exchange
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This year, more than 8,000 teens will see the world the way it is best seen — from the inside out — through the Rotary Youth Exchange program.
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Types of Exchanges
| There are two principal types of exchanges:
| Long-term exchanges usually last for an academic year. During your stay, you will live with more than one host family — typically three different families for three months each — and attend high school.
| Short-term exchanges vary from a few weeks to three months. You will not attend school on a short-term exchange, but you will most likely live with a host family. Rotary, however, offers a variety of short-term exchanges, including:
| Homestays
| On a homestay, you will live with another family abroad. This type of program can be arranged for individual students or groups of students. A typical homestay may involve you spending a few weeks living with a family in Australia, while your host "brother" or "sister" lives with your family.
| Tours
| Some short-term exchanges are structured as tours through one or more foreign countries. For example, on a short-term tour, you could travel through France and Germany with teens from all over the United States, or you could travel through Singapore with a group of students from all over the world.
| Camps
| International youth camps bring students together from several countries to provide leadership training and address international concerns. Or, camps may simply be the means whereby students from different cultures get to know each other. Camps involving both able-bodied and disabled young people are popular in many countries. Whatever the camp, you're sure to meet some fascinating new friends.
| New Generations Exchanges
| Open to people ages 18-25, this option is ideal for recent high school graduates and college and graduate students. Usually lasting three to six weeks, these exchanges may be for individuals or groups, and can involve homestays, tours, or camps.
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Students
| An Overview
| As a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you will spend a year, or perhaps just an extended period of time, living with a host family in a country other than your own. You may learn a new language; you will learn a new way of living and a great deal about yourself. But there's more. While you are busy learning, the people you meet will be learning as well — about your country, culture, and ideas. You will be an ambassador. You will be helping to bring the world closer together, and you'll be making good friends in the process.
If you are ready for the challenge and the rewards of living in another land as an exchange student, then you are ready to discover new worlds through the Rotary Youth Exchange.
| Eligibility
| If you are a high school student between the ages of 15 and 19, then you are eligible for Rotary Youth Exchange. As the oldest exchange program of its kind, Rotary Youth Exchange takes pride in choosing students who are academically above average, articulate, and demonstrate leadership in their communities.
Ideal candidates should also possess qualities — like flexibility and a willingness to try new things — that will enable them to become excellent cultural ambassadors. You do not have to be involved with Rotary in any way in order to apply, although children of Rotarians are more than welcome to participate.
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Host Families
| Hosting a Youth Exchange student from another country is a challenge — and an opportunity. Involvement with an exchange student challenges a host family to become familiar with another culture, while providing the opportunity to share a student's hopes and ambitions. These challenges and opportunities promise to enrich the lives of every member of your family.
Because Rotary exchanges with more countries than any other exchange organisation, you could have a student from one of 163 countries living in your home. Not only will you provide an unforgettable service to a student from abroad, but you also will educate your family about the world around them.
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